Basketball
Good Sloukas don’t mean bad Bartzokas
George Bartzokas and Costas Sloukas have no reason to listen to anyone. They have the same goal, they belong to the elite of the EuroLeague and they know that one man’s good is another’s good. The opposite is a failure guarantee. Spyros Kavalieratos writes
George Bartzokas and Costas Sloukas are not rivals. They are on the same page and have exactly the same goal. And when the result is victorious in the end, what counts is what connects them and not what separates them.
It took Olympiacos a lot to beat Efes. Giving Costas Sloukas one of the best performances of his career while still achieving the buzzer bite that will be a lifetime legacy for him and his team. And of course, this result can prove beneficial for the Red-Whites for the rest of the season.
Dorsey also had to make big shots at the end of the regular season and in overtime Sasha Vezenkov was everywhere again, Mustafa Fal and Costas Papanikolaou played great defences.
But George Bartzokas also had to lend a hand. Not with the so-called tricks they “sell” for trainer promotional videos. Not for a handball change, not for a break that resulted in a basket. Also, in the final attack of the regular season, Bartzokas was not eligible to go for Makisik by his pick. It was obvious to give Kostas Sloukas the ball and let him decide. Like it happened in Barcelona and failed, like it happened in SEF with Fener and put it. And don’t necessarily shoot yourself, but decide. The second sensible choice was for Tyler Dorsey to take the offense despite previously losing the ball. Nobody believed that in the end the order would decide Makisik, who had no previous … honest life.
But that was also the reason why Bartzokas chose the American. Because he thought against the majority and possibly ataman. He did the same with Harrison last year when he scored the three-pointer in the win over Maccabi Tel Aviv. But Makisik didn’t justify him… or did he?
Go on. In a perfectly crafted match by Bartzokas and his staff, Makisik was part of both starlets. And for the last attack that he was awarded the decision but also because he stayed on the ground and not the excellent defender Costas Papanikolaou.
However, the game’s development has provided its own answers. Not just because both Fal and Makisik and Sloukas did exactly what they had to do in the last 30 seconds, but because what happened was part of Olympiacos and Bartzokas’ philosophy. They weren’t momentary plans on the board, but part of the day-to-day work at Peace and Friendship Stadium.
Dorsey’s basket in the 30” followed a perfect defense from Mustafa Fal. Olympiacos decided to make a move and the Frenchman did exactly what the technical staff asked for from the start of the game. He sent Mitsic into his left hand. Everyone had the same order, but the Serb mostly finds a way where he wants. At the decisive point, however, Mitsic went to the left and Fal falsified his attempt. The plan was carried out and the red and white had the last chance.
There was a phase that ended in Bartzokas favorite pass that works like no other across all his teams. Makisik took the ball from Sloukas, but in this case he didn’t short circuit and made the right decision. He passed the ball (back pass) to the Greek Guard and unbalanced the Efes defence. In view of the dimensions and conditions, the attack was reminiscent of “mein swamp boy” from 2005, when Zisis made a difference in everyday team life with a pass to Diamantidis. It didn’t happen, it worked.
Would we discuss these if Dorsey hadn’t reduced to 30” or if Mitsic finally put the basket in Fal or if Sloukas missed from the corner? Of course not. Any Bartzokas substitutions would be scrutinized, Makisik would listen to them because he forgot about Larkin and got a three-pointer, Sloukas could be a loser again because he lost a free three-pointer in overtime when Olympiakos was at +1.
But judging a coach or an organization by one detail shows that they don’t care about basketball and sports. Bartzokas will of course be judged in the end – once the funding is in place – for the decisions he made. For his overall philosophy and relationships with his athletes. But not one shot.
The same applies to players. Like Sloukas said Sportishat the end of the day “We are all judged by the end result“If Olympiacos finishes the season successfully, everyone will increase their shares, look for better offers, have a nicer holiday. And win the love of her people.
During the season it makes sense to have friction. The best players will look for a way to move up the hierarchy to find more time to participate. Others will try to find their role. You will have tension and disagreements because there isn’t just one right way to play basketball. And in one game, victory can come with the overall philosophy of the team, in another thanks to the personality of the player, who often, against all odds, changes the result himself.
Good coaches need good players. And good players look for support from good coaches. Bartzokas, with his distinctive character, belongs to the elite of Europe and is loved by the people of Olympiacos. These are facts, these are not topics for discussion. Costas Sloukas is one of the top guards in the EuroLeague and now that he’s even more comfortable at Olympiakos, he’s getting even better.
The two went above and beyond to work together in the summer of 2020 because they believed in each other. The fact that something came up between them – anyone who says the opposite is hiding the truth – and the belief was lost, happens in groups and is resolved. After all, every issue over the past few days seems to have been competitive rather than personal. And on the court, those who know basketball can communicate with their eyes closed when they decide to take a step back. Because as you know, taking a step or two back gives you time to run faster during combat.
That’s why good Sloukas are not bad Bartzokas. Not the other way around…Especially when they know that stepping down isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of greatness.
Jessica Martinez is an author at Sportish, a publication dedicated to sports news and analysis. She covers various topics related to sports and provides insightful commentary on the latest developments in the world of sports.
“Kharkov Falcons” announced his return to the team Vyacheslav Kiktev.
The 23-year-old basketball player spent the first half of the season on loan at BC Zaporozhye.
As part of the Kazakhs, Kiktev was on the field for an average of 14:42 minutes per game and recorded 4.4 points and 3.0 rebounds.
“Due to the huge competition for the Pinterest position, I started loaning Vyacheslav to BC Zaporozhye in the summer. We had doubts about whether Slava would get enough playing time with the Falcons this season, especially considering the fact that he averaged only 10:41 minutes per game last year, even in the Major League. Under these circumstances, the loan from BC Zaporozhye was a consistent and balanced decision, and in my opinion, it was in Vyacheslav’s best interest. Luckily, the loan club was also in the interest of Vyacheslav.” BC Zaporozhye had almost no players in the center position and we knew that our player was guaranteed to get playing time.
A number of injuries in our squad necessitated the return of Vyacheslav Kiktev to the Kharkov Falcons. Due to lack of players, we have not been able to train five-on-five for more than a month. At the same time, the recovery period of players such as Dmitry Kleban, Nikita Bezima, Dmitry Martynov has also been postponed – at the moment we do not have specific information about when these players will fully return, at least to the training process,” Valery Plekhanov commented on the transfer.
Earlier, Valery Plekhanov summarized the team’s results for 2025 and talked about the preparations for the continuation of the season.
Source: Sport UA
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
The NBA sent a memo to league teams proposing stricter rules on injury reporting and betting because of federal charges in gambling cases involving current and former league officials. The purpose of the changes is to reduce the value of insider information and prevent manipulation of results.
The league is considering measures to prevent intentional losing, more frequent updating of injury reports and restrictions on betting on individual match events. Specifically, teams will be required to submit injury reports updated every 15 minutes on match day. It is also planned to expand gambling-related education programs, strengthen the protection of players and staff against pressure from bookmakers and improve the monitoring of suspicious activities.
In addition, the league plans to introduce discounts and restrictions on betting on individual player statistics, highlighting the need for greater control over the types of bets offered by bookmakers.
Macau tries to move away from casino city image
Source: Sport UA
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
Nine games were played in the NBA regular season on the night of December 27-28.
“San Antonio” hosted “Utah” and suffered a sensational defeat.
Spurs had a good first quarter, during which they made a 15:2 spurt to take an 11-point lead at 30:19, but failed to build on it or at least maintain it. In the second quarter, the Jazz responded with a 25:5 attack and took the lead 62:51 with the same 11 points. Utah then kept the opponent at bay for more than 10 points until the middle of the fourth quarter, when Spurs equalized the score – 106:106, thanks to a 14:2 breakthrough. However, the home team could not achieve this success and failed at the end of the match. In the last three minutes of the game, San Antonio scored 2 points and lost them with a score of 2:11 and had a score of 114:127 throughout the match.
Svyatoslav Mikhayyuk He was in Utah’s starting five and stayed on the field for 14 minutes, during which time he scored 3 points (1/1 three-pointers), also made 1 rebound and 1 assist with 1 loss and 1 foul.
The most productive player of the match was Vembanyama, who brought 32 points to Spurs, but this did not help them achieve positive results. Jazz has 29 points from Markkanen and 28 points from George.
“Chicago” lost at home to “Milwaukee”, where Giannis Antetokounmpo returned.
The Bucks gained a minimal advantage in the first quarter and then gradually increased it, eventually winning all quarters of the match and winning with a score of 103:112.
In this game, Antetokounmpo returned to the field after his calf muscle injury and became the most productive player, scoring 29 points for Milwaukee. Portis also scored a double-double for the guest team with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
NBA. Regular season, December 28
San Antonio – Utah – 114:127 (40:32, 20:38, 27:28, 27:29)
San Antonio: Vembanyama (32 + 7 rebounds + 5 blocks), Castle (20 + 7 assists), Vassell (11), Shempeni (4), Barnes (3) – start; K. Johnson (27 + 10 rebounds), Harper (7 + 7 rebounds + 12 assists), Cornet (7 + 8 rebounds), Brian (3), Sohan (0), McLaughlin (0), Waters (0).
Utah: Markkanen (29), George (28 + 6 assists), Nurkic (16 + 7 rebounds + 6 assists), Sensabaugh (11), Mikhailyuk (3) – start; Clayton (17), Williams (8), Collier (7), Filippovski (6 + 6 assists), Hendricks (2).
Chicago – Milwaukee – 103:112 (26:28, 24:26, 30:31, 23:27)
Chicago: White (16 + 5 losses), Vucevic (16 + 7 rebounds), Giddy (13 + 7 rebounds + 9 assists), Okoro (10), Buzelis (8) – start; Dosunmu (11), Collins (10 + 10 rebounds), Herter (7), Smith (6 + 10 rebounds), Jones (6 + 6 assists), Williams (0).
Milwaukee: Y. Antetokounmpo (29 + 8 rebounds), Rollins (20 + 7 rebounds), Turner (13), Porter (8 + 9 assists), Green (6) – start; Portis (17 + 11 rebounds), Kuzma (12), Sims (4), G. Harris (3).
Sacramento-Dallas-113:107 (31:23, 28:21, 29:33, 25:30)
sacramento: Westbrook (21 + 9 assists), Ellis (21), Reynaud (19), DeRozan (9 + 6 assists), Achiuwa (5 + 9 rebounds) – start; Schroeder (10), McDermott (9), Clifford (8+9 rebounds), Monk (7), Cardwell (4+8 rebounds).
dallas: Flagg (23 + 5 turnovers), Washington (17 + 4 blocks), Gafford (11 + 7 rebounds), Christie (9 + 7 rebounds), Nembhard (9) – start; Thompson (14), Marshall (11), Russell (7), Hardy (5), Powell (1 + 11 rebounds), Caleb Martin (0), Cisse (0).
New Orleans – Phoenix – 114:123 (33:32, 22:33, 30:28, 29:30)
New Orleans: Murphy (24), Quinn (21 + 11 rebounds), Fiers (18 + 8 rebounds), Bay (17), McGowens (0) – start; Williamson (22), Alvarado (7), Missy (4 + 8 rebounds), Poole (1), Peavy (0).
Phoenix: Booker (20), Brooks (18), Gillespie (17 + 7 rebounds + 7 assists), O’Neal (15), Ighodaro (8 + 10 rebounds) – start; Goodwin (16 + 9 rebounds), Buey (12), Williams (10 + 8 rebounds), Fleming (5), Richards (2), Livers (0).
Orlando-Denver-127:126 (23:31, 25:31, 36:31, 43:33)
orlando: Black (38), Bane (24 + 6 assists), Carter (18 + 7 rebounds), Banchero (12 + 6 assists), Jones (0 + 6 assists) – start; da Silva (17), Kane (7), Isaac (5), Richardson (4), Penda (2), Howard (0).
Denver: Jokic (34 + 21 rebounds + 12 assists), J. Murray (24), Hardaway (20), Watson (15), Jones (14) – start; Strother (13), Valanciunas (4), B. Brown (2), Pickett (0).
Atlanta – New York – 125:128 (27:33, 28:35, 34:30, 36:30)
of Atlanta: Okongwu (31 + 14 rebounds), Johnson (20 + 9 rebounds + 12 assists), Daniels (13 + 8 rebounds + 9 assists), Young (9 + 10 assists + 5 turnovers), Risache (4) – start; Alexander-Walker (25), Newell (12), Krejci (9), Kennard (2), Guay (0).
New York: Towns (36 + 16 rebounds), Brunson (34), Anunoby (15 + 10 rebounds), Bridges (14 + 8 assists), Diawara (5) – start; McCullar (13 + 8 rebounds), Robinson (6 + 9 rebounds), Clarkson (3), Colic (2).
Miami – Indiana – 142:116 (29:28, 30:32, 39:34, 44:22)
Miami: Wiggins (28), Powell (23), Larsson (16 + 7 assists), Weir (15 + 7 rebounds), Mitchell (0) – start; Jaques (28), Jovic (19 + 7 rebounds + 7 assists), Smith (5), Yakucionis (4), Johnson (2), Fontecchio (2), Gardner (0).
indiana: Siakam (33 + 7 rebounds + 5 losses), Maturin (25 + 5 losses), Nembhard (15 + 16 assists), Huff (11), Furphy (9 + 7 rebounds) – start; Nesmith (9), Jackson (4), Walker (3), Bradley (3), Jones (2), Potter (2), Thompson (0), Peter (0).
Minnesota – Brooklyn – 107:123 (30:33, 33:29, 23:36, 21:25)
Minnesota: Edwards (28 + 7 rebounds), McDaniels (16), Randle (13 + 11 assists), DiVincenzo (11 + 6 assists), Gobert (6 + 8 rebounds) – start; Reed (13), Dillingham (7), Clark (6), Hyland (4), Juzeng (3), Beranger (0), Miller (0).
Brooklyn: Porter (27 + 10 rebounds), Claxton (14), Clowney (11), Demin (7), Menn (2) – start; Thomas (30), Wolf (11), Sharpe (10), Powell (7), Traore (4), Wilson (0).
Houston – Cleveland – 117:100 (32:24, 28:22, 30:17, 27:37)
Houston: Durant (30 + 7 assists), Smith (15 + 7 rebounds), Thompson (13 + 9 rebounds), Eason (9), Adams (9 + 8 rebounds) – start; Sheppard (18 + 8 assists + 5 steals), Okogie (8), Capela (4 + 8 rebounds), Davison (3), Green (3), Finney-Smith (3), A. Holiday (2), Tate (0).
cleveland: Mitchell (16 + 6 assists), Merrill (13), Garland (12), Wade (6), Allen (6) – starts; Tyson (23 + 15 rebounds), Proctor (7), Bryant (7 + 7 rebounds), E. Mobley (4), Hunter (2), Porter (2), Ball (2).
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
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